Rylee Kirk | rkirk@syracuse.com

Rylee Kirk joined Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard in October 2021 after graduating with a master’s degree in investigative journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Arizona. She is originally from Skaneateles, New York, and moved to just outside Savannah, Georgia at a young age. Since returning to the 315, she has worked as a crime and public safety reporter. She has investigated the systematic failure of the child protective system in Oswego County, even traveling to Virginia to speak with a survivor. Frequently she profiles crime victims, including tracking down the family of a Yemeni refugee killed in 2021 to write about him. At the Cronkite school, Kirk worked on a capstone investigation entitled “Little Victims Everywhere,” which revealed the federal government’s inaction on child sex abuse cases in Indian Country. The project won the Shaufler Prize. After high school she graduated from Mercer University with a journalism degree. While at Mercer University she reported on the campus community, local community, and was part of a reporting trip to Peru. In the future, she hopes to continue covering important topics and help people share their stories.